State Baseball Teams of the Year

Matt LaCour won a major title as a head coach at Dodger Stadium before, but that was wearing different colors and for a different section. Photo: Mark Tennis.

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For the second time in nine seasons, coach Matt LaCour can say he had the State Team of the Year.

It is now official that LaCour’s club at Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood has been selected as the 2013 Cal-Hi Sports State Team of the Year. The Wolverines capped their season last Friday night by edging Marina of Huntington Beach 1-0 in the CIF Southern Section Division I championship at Dodger Stadium.

In 2005, LaCour was the head coach when El Camino Real of Woodland Hills went 28-4 and captured the CIF L.A. City Section Division I crown.

“Both teams were very tough and it’s hard to compare,” LaCour said shortly after last weekend’s contest. “This team was built from the ground up. The players and coaches that came in all bought into the program. We talked about what kind of work then that it takes for a team to be great. (Winning the title) is a testament to what can happen with hard work.”

It’s not going to be a surprise that several Harvard-Westlake players – most likely junior Jack Flaherty and senior Arden Pabst – will be chosen to the annual all-state team. But LaCour and others on the team also pointed to a player like sophomore Jackson Grayson. He was a defensive replacement in the seventh inning of the game against Marina and threw out the potential tying run at home plate.

“That kid epitomizes what this team was about,” LaCour said. “It’s never, ever about me. He never had one bad practice. He was happy coming into the game in those situations.”

Harvard-Westlake notched a win over another top team in the state, Oaks Christian of Westlake Village, en route to winning the Easton tourney early in the season. The Wolverines also reached the title game of the National High School Baseball Invitational in North Carolina, but lost to fellow SoCal powerhouse Mater Dei of Santa Ana.

In the CIFSS D1 playoffs, Mater Dei went out early in an upset, but Harvard-Westlake did not and advanced with victories against Valencia, El Dorado of Placentia, Santa Margarita and Los Alamitos.

More Cal-Hi Sports State
Baseball Teams of the Year

Division II: Campolindo (Moraga)

In a winner-take-all championship played Saturday in the CIF North Coast Section, the Cougars took it all and then some with an 8-0 shutout of Petaluma Casa Grande.

As a three-time defending section champion, Campolindo was still the lower seed and lower ranked team because of a head-to-head loss early in the season to the Gauchos.

In this game, Cal-bound junior Matt Ladrech tossed a three-hitter while Trent Shelton shined with four hits and four at-bats.

Casa Grande finished 27-3. The Cougars, who ramped up their pre-league schedule to the point where it ranked as among the toughest in in the state, ended 21-6-1.

Last year, coach Mick Luckhurst’s squad also was No. 1 for Division II. The Cougars were No. 2 in their division in 2010.

Division III: Oaks Christian (Westlake Village)

With No. 2 Serra of Gardena winning in the CIFSS D3 final on Friday, the Lions had to win in the CIFSS D4 final on Saturday and that’s what they did, cruising past El Rancho of Pico Rivera 4-0.

Finishing up a 29-3-1 season, Oaks Christian’s Phil Bickford was sensational in his final pitching performance for the Lions. The expected high pick in the upcoming MLB draft was reported to have hit 97 mph and used his gas to pump out a school record 18 strikeouts.

The big hit of the game for the Lions was a two-run double by Austin Sreden.

The last Ventura County team to end No. 1 in the state in Division III was Rio Mesa of Oxnard in 1980.

As a school, Oaks Christian has topped its division of the state rankings many times in different sports. This is its first No. 1 finish in baseball.

Division IV: Pacific Grove

No suspense was needed for this division after the Breakers set a Northern California record two weekends ago by finishing 31-0. They also won their second straight CIF Central Coast Section title.

The last team from Monterey County to finish No. 1 in the state for its division was Carmel in Division III in 1996.

Division V: Desert Christian Academy (Bermuda Dunes)

Morgan Earman pitched his fourth shutout of the season and had a two-hitter as DCA blanked Capistrano Valley Christian of SJ Capistrano 10-0 last Friday to win the CIFSS Division VI title.

If DCA had lost, state No. 2 Bradshaw Christian of Sacramento (24-6) was waiting to move up.

This is the first No. 1 state ranking for Desert Christian Academy (29-2) in any sport. The only other Palm Springs region school that has been No. 1 in baseball was Palm Desert in Division III in 2010.

Cal-Hi Sports All-Time
State Baseball Teams of the Year

2013 — North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake (28-4)
2012 — Vista (31-4)
2011 — Clovis Buchanan (30-2)
2010 — San Jose Archbishop Mitty (31-3)
2009 — Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley (26-6)
2008 — Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (27-4)
2007 — Long Beach Wilson (31-3)
2006 — San Jose Bellarmine (34-4)
2005 — Woodland Hills El Camino Real (28-4)
2004 — Chatsworth (35-0)
2003 — Carlsbad La Costa Canyon (32-1)
2002 — La Puente Bishop Amat (28-2)
2001 — La Puente Bishop Amat (27-2)
2000 — San Diego Rancho Bernardino (30-3)
1999 — Riverside Arlington (29-2)
1998 — Clovis (33-2)
1997 — Clovis (32-2) (plus one win by default)
1996 — Granada Hills Kennedy (31-3)
1995 — Fountain Valley (26-3-1)
1994 — Fountain Valley (27-3-1)
1993 — Fresno Bullard (26-3-1)
1992 — San Diego Mira Mesa (26-5)
1991 — Ontario (26-0)
1990 — Cupertino Monta Vista (27-3)
1989 — Fresno Bullard (28-2)
1988 — Fresno Bullard (29-1)
1987 — Lakewood (25-7)
1986 — Santee Santana (26-2)
1985 — Oxnard Rio Mesa (27-3)
1984 — Rancho Cordova (33-5-1)
1983 — El Cerrito (27-1)
1982 — San Diego Mt. Carmel (24-2)
1981 — Westminster (23-4)
1980 — Fresno Bullard (29-2)
1979 — Visalia Mt. Whitney (20-3)
1978 — Larkspur Redwood (30-5)
1977 — West Covina Edgewood (29-1)
1976 — Lakewood (22-4-1)
1975 — Torrance Bishop Montgomery (27-3)
1974 — Torrance North (26-6-1)
1973 — El Segundo (30-5)
1972 — Venice (19-3)
1971 — El Segundo (33-2)
1970 — Lompoc (27-1)
1969 — Sacramento Grant (16-1)
1968 — Fresno Hoover (27-3)
1967 — Long Beach Millikan (20-4)
1966 — El Segundo (24-4-1)
1965 — San Diego Crawford (22-4)
1964 — Lynwood (23-2)
1963 — Long Beach Poly (21-4)
1962 — Sacramento Bishop Armstrong (22-2)
1961 — S.F. Sacred Heart (32-2-1)
1960 — Fresno Roosevelt (20-2)
1959 — S.F. St. Ignatius (28-3)
1958 — Fresno (25-1)
1957 — Fresno (22-2)
1956 — Ontario Chaffey (21-5)
1955 — South Gate (17-2)
1954 — L.A. Loyola (22-5)
1953 — Compton (23-2)
1952 — S.F. Sacred Heart (29-5)
1951 — Sacramento McClatchy (22-0-1)
1950 — Long Beach Wilson (24-3)
1949 — San Diego (29-3)
1948 — San Diego (26-3)
1947 — S.F. Mission (12-1)*
1946 — San Diego (24-7)
1945 — S.F. Mission (10-0, League)
1944 — S.F. Mission (9-0, League)
1943 — L.A. Fremont (13-1)
1942 — San Diego Hoover (13-0 vs. prep teams)
1941 — S.F. Galileo (12-1)*
1940 — S.F. Mission (11-1)*
1939 — San Diego (20-5)
1938 — Glendale (4-0, Playoffs)
1937 — S.F. Commerce (12-2, League)
1936 — Long Beach Poly (23-2)
1935 — Sacramento (20-1)
1934 — S.F. Mission (7-0, League)
1933 — Fresno Roosevelt (20 -2)
1932 — San Diego (11-4)
1931 — S.F. Mission (8-0, League)
1930 — San Diego (19-3)
1929 — San Diego (31-5)
1928 — San Diego (22-8-1)
1927 — Fullerton (29-5-1)
1926 — Alameda (21-1)
1925 — Los Angeles (6-0, League)
1924 — S.F. Sacred Heart (6-0)*
1923 — San Diego (15-4)
1922 — S.F. Mission (6-1)*
1921 — San Diego (18-5-2)
1920 — San Diego (13-1)
1919 — Oakland Technical (8-0)*
1918 — San Diego (12-6)
1917 — San Diego (12-1)
1916 — S.F. Poly (7-0, League)
1915 — S.F. Sacred Heart (5-0)*
1914 — S.F. Lowell (6-0)*
1913 — Long Beach Poly (19-3-1)
1912 — Long Beach Poly (17-5)
1911 — S.F. Sacred Heart (5-0)*
1910 — S.F. Sacred Heart (8-0)*
1909 — Alameda (5-0)*
1908 — Palo Alto (4-0)*
1907 — Alameda (5-1)*
1906 — S.F. Lick (1-0 League)**
1905 — S.F. Lick (9-1-1)*
1904 — Palo Alto
1903 — Berkeley
1902 — S.F. Lowell
1901 — Berkeley
1900 — S.F. Cogswell
1899 — Palo Alto (5-0)
*Record for league and playoff games only.
** Playoffs and remainder of league schedule were cancelled due to earthquake.
Lick’s 1906 team was regarded as being better than its 1905 team.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @CalHiSports